


The Boy who Cried Fox

by bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb



Series: Pyro, the man who creates legends [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Gen, Platonic love is very important!, fanfic of a fanfic, shippers don't interact
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24263179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb/pseuds/bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
Summary: Discontinued.How Niall exists before, during and after the games hold only one commonality. He is still cared for by his best friend. And that was only because Alex has always been able to pick out Niall's lies.Alex has been given the gift of knowing when Niall truly speaks. Alex knows every blood drenched word that is forced past Niall's lips is nothing more than Capitol propaganda.Alex will not allow for a forced detachment of his friends. Some have likened Niall to a parasite and Alex has always told him that "I have more than enough to give."
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Pyro, the man who creates legends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757236
Comments: 49
Kudos: 57





	1. A tiny step up.

**Author's Note:**

_6 days before._

He wakes up at dawn. He dresses quickly, in the dark, his siblings still asleep as he heads downstairs.

His father is practicing walking with his wooden leg again. His mother, the saint she always is, has filled up his thermos with hot water and is making him a small bowl of oatmeal.

He grabs his backpack from the base of his father's chair, who, despite not working in the fields for six years, still puts the backpack next to him.

It's something that pisses him off to no end, but he holds his tongue in front of his mother. She does not deserve to be exposed to his rage at his father, for clinging to a nightmare he woke up from.

He slides on his boots as he eats, tying them with one hand expertly.

His mother wraps warm bread and boiled potatoes in a large piece of cloth, knotting it up and placing it next to his mittens.

He pulls on his coat, packs up his backpack, kisses his mother goodbye on the cheek, and simply nods to his father as he leaves.

Niall Comas steps out into the sharp morning air at 4:25 and smiles.

_~~Another day in the fields, better than in the dirt.~~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not canon in this fanverse at all! I simply felt inspired by all the other works and wanted to contribute! This will hopefully be a few chapters long! (unless i abandon it) but enjoy, for now!


	2. You care beyond what you care to admit.

_6 days before._

The bus arrives at 4:30. Niall finds it funny when Robbie, the bus driver, pretends like Niall isn't his next-door neighbor and his laughter carries him through the minutes until the next stop.

Alex gets on the bus, along with his housemate George. Alex beelines to Niall, who shifts over to make space for Alex. George sits two rows over.

Alex reaches over to pull his seatbelt on and Niall notices that Alex isn't wearing gloves. The tips of Alex's fingers are tinged with purple. 

Niall tosses his gloves to Alex. They smack him right in the face.

"Oi! What was that for?" Alex exclaims.

"You are clearly cold," Niall says. He pulls out his thermos and wraps his fingers around it. That will keep his hands warm enough.

"I am not cold." Alex tries to hand them back but Niall leans away.

"Don't listen to him, he was shivering as we were waiting," George says, and Alex flips him off.

George doesn't respond, probably because he couldn't see Alex.

The bus rattles along and slowly warms up enough that Niall can put his thermos away. Alex hands back Niall's gloves and they try to make sense of Alex's dream.

James and Will get on at the next stop, along with two other men who live on the same road.

They all talk until the bus fills up. Alex stares out the window when George leaves.

Niall looks too. George looks impossibly small next to his co-workers, but they still move out of George's way. Niall suspects that it has to do with the bandanna that George always wears. People can't get a good read on him.

Alex waves good-bye to James and Will, as well. Niall just nods at them.

They reach the final stop, and Niall ushers Alex off. They stand in the assignment line for a long time. Niall's breath comes out in short, white puffs.

Alex is shaking. His worn hand-me-down clothes are too thin to handle the cold. Niall sheds his coat without a thought.

"Put this on, idiot," Niall grumbles.

"I'm okay rea-"

"Put it on or I'm gonna fucking kill you."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. No mercy." Niall looks away, face pink with cold.

"You are such a liar. If you wanted me dead, you wouldn't give me the coat."

"Am not."

"Are too."

They bicker back and forth for ten more minutes, before getting assigned weeding as their duty.

Niall leans over the winter wheat sprouts and digs his fingers in the dirt. The ground is already hardening, making digging a laborious task. The dirt clings to the beds of his nails. When he gets home, he'll be caked in the stuff.

The weed is barely visible amongst the sprouts, but Niall isn't a newbie. He's worked weeding longer than any other assignment, and it shows. He works with expert hands, making sure to dig out every root without disturbing the wheat. 

This weed is difficult, however. It's burdock, he can tell by its sticky burrs that catch his clothes.

"Alex, I'm gonna need help with this one!" Niall calls down the row.

Alex looks up from his spot and glances over at the Peacekeeper that is standing watch at the end of the field. Niall knows why his friend hesitates. After all, he has twin scars on his back.

Alex looks again to make sure that the Peacekeeper isn't paying attention and jogs over to Niall. 

They work in hurried harmony, digging up the taproot, which reaches more than two feet.

Niall starts snapping the roots into smaller pieces and Alex collects the burrs. They place the plant, bit by bit, in Niall's backpack. Niall is reaching for the last few pieces when a shadow falls over them.

It's the Peacekeeper. Alex goes tense and still, and tries to make himself smaller with every breath he takes. Niall, on the other hand, forces his body to relax and plasters on a lazy smile. He shifts so that he slightly obscures Alex from the Peacekeepers' line of sight and speaks.

"Is everything all right sir?" He plays up his country-boy accent. _Sound innocent._ Beside him, Alex is shaking and Niall brushes his hand against Alex's. _Look like you have nothing to hide._ Niall makes brief eye contact, before looking back down. _Act like they are your superior._

"Why are you putting plants in your bag?" The Peacekeeper re-adjusts his holster, trying to draw attention to the fact that he has a stun baton.

Niall actually relaxes a bit at that. It shows that the Peacekeeper is new. A fresh recruit, who thinks that they have power just because of the weapon, and not because of what they can do with a weapon.

"Oh, we were just digging up a big weed, and we noticed that it had a really long root and it has the burrs out. Its a really bad weed that has to be burned in order to be fully dead, and because we don't have those kinds of capabilities here, I was fixing to take it home to burn it proper." He dumbs himself down and adds a worried tone to his voice. "But if that's not all right sir, I can run over to the nearest building to see if I can burn it." He scratches his head. "But then I would have to leave my post and I couldn't do all my work and-"

The Peacekeeper holds up a hand, and Niall pretends to not feel Alex flinch. "It's fine. Just make sure you burn all of it."

_Idiot._

Niall smiles. "Of course, sir!"

The Peacekeeper walks away. Niall watches until he sure it's safe to look away. 

Alex is shaking and breathing in quickly, but his eyes aren't darting around and he isn't pulling out his own hair, so it might only be a short attack.

It ends up lasting ten minutes. When Alex fully recovers, he is wrapped up in a tight hug from Niall, who is reminding him of a breathing pattern. Other workers have gathered around them. They have formed a protective circle around them and are calmly explaining to the Peacekeepers and the field manager that Alex is just having a small fit and will be ready to work very soon. The field manager takes their side and some of the Peacekeepers seem upset that they can't use their weapon.

It's decided that Niall and Alex will work together for the rest of the day. Niall will be held responsible if there's another slip-up, and he agrees.

Alex doesn't speak until lunch. Niall is shielding him from everyone else. Niall has a mouth full of potato when Alex speaks.

"Can I have a slice of your bread?" Alex asks.

Niall nods and rips off a chunk for Alex. He stares for a few seconds before speaking. "You good now?"

Alex nods. "Better now."

Niall smiles at that and doesn't push for more.

"Don't know how we didn't get into trouble." Alex looks over at the Peacekeeper quickly.

"You know that I've been blessed with a silver tongue, Alex." Niall took a swig of his water. "And when that fails, I have endless charisma and charm."

"Oh, that's what you call it?"

Niall let out a short laugh.

"Honestly, I don't know how people don't catch you lying. I can always tell when you're lying." Niall rolled his eyes at that.

"Yeah, when I'm around you, my silver tongue turns into copper."

Alex stared before bursting into laughter. "That has to be... the stupidest thing... you have ever said!"

"Shut the fuck up," Niall said, but he was laughing too.

The rest of the day passes by without event.

They board the bus. Niall makes Alex sit in the window seat so that he can stretch his legs out in the aisle and definitely not because he is protecting Alex from the rest of the bus.

The field guys are all supportive but the other workers are usually not. Niall has punched a bunch of guys for his friends. On the ride home, they don't have to sit by job. This means that Niall and his friends are usually given a wide berth.

Will and James get on. They sit in the row ahead of Niall and Alex. They all talk about their workdays.

"Me and Alex dug up some burdock today," Niall whispers. At the blank look from James, Niall explains. "It's edible. The roots you can boil or roast, and the leaves and the stalks are edible too. But we got mostly roots, and some of the seeds."

Niall paused. "We'll divvy them up when George gets on."

Will nods. "I got some chickweed and I tried to mark the spot where it was the best I could so I could get more tomorrow."

"That's good. James, could you find anything?"

James shook his head. "I found some stuff but I forgot to pack lunch today."

They all know that James didn't really forget, but they stayed quiet about it.

The bus came to a halt and George boarded. Niall noticed immediately that George's left eye was twitching.

He waits until George gets to their row, and stands up so that George can sit next to Alex. George squeezes in and Niall sits next to him, half off the seat, until Alex presses himself to the window and pulls George over.

"You got stunned?" Niall asks.

"Yeah, some wanker tried to take off my mask." George leaned back. "Beat the shit out of him."

"Was that necessary?" Alex pipes up.

"It's always necessary with George," James says under his breath.

George is silent for a moment before "What the fuck did you just say?"

George tries to lunge but Niall was expecting it and grabs George around the middle. Niall holds George still as he thrashes.

He can feel the eyes of everyone on the bus on him.

"George, don't fucking do this right now. Alex has had a bit of a tough day. Don't make it worse." Niall speaks ice-cold and quiet, in what Alex has called 'A Victor's Voice'. "And James," Niall makes eye contact. "Apologize. Now." The last word is almost a snarl because they are getting close to the next stop, and Peacekeepers are there.

James looks away, ashamed. "I'm sorry, George. It was a low blow and I shouldn't have said it."

George has stopped thrashing but is still breathing heavily. He looks at Niall and spots the concern beneath the anger on Niall's face. "I accept your apology, James. I'm a bit on edge from the stun but that doesn't excuse my reaction."

"It's fine, dude. I get it." James waved it off.

Niall lets go of George before scanning Alex. He seemed fine but was staring down at his feet.

Niall looked back up at the rest of the bus. "Is something the matter, lads?" They looked away and the next group of workers loads the bus.

They sit in silence until they are sure that no one is looking.

Niall pulls out his bag and begins splitting up the pieces. Will splits up the chickweed. 

"Just give my bit of the chickweed to George," Niall says.

"Why?" George asks.

"Chickweed is anti-bacterial. Use it on the stun spot if you need too." Niall clears his throat.

"Aww, Niall, you careeee," Alex puts his hand over his heart.

"No I don't," Niall crosses his arms over his chest, like a petulant toddler.

It's clear that the others don't believe him, and he is teased until Will and James get off the bus. They wave goodbye and the bus is almost empty now.

Alex had fallen asleep, Niall's coat over him like a blanket. George was staring down at his hands like he was waiting for Niall to reprimand him.

"Next time someone gives you shit, don't punch them in the face." Niall's voice shatters the silence. "Kick them in the nuts. Less obvious to the Peacekeepers."

George seems shocked. "You're not gonna tell me off?"

Niall shakes his head. "Peacekeepers did enough of that." He paused. "And I know why you get so protective over it."

"Yeah, I keep forgetting that you know."

George lapsed into silence, not wanting to say anything more about it.

Niall knows why George gets so protective of his mask. George had immense scarring around his mouth. None of them knew where they came from, but the rumor mill has several theories. A Peacekeeper did it, someone in Georges's family did it, George did it, someone from the Victor's Village did it. George had never shared what happened and never expressed wanting to share what happened so Niall didn't push it.

Every time someone tried to ask George around Niall, they would find themselves quickly trapped in a conversation about whether a bandanna was a mask or a scarf. They would eventually give up and walk away, leaving Niall celebrating his verbal victory.

Niall shakes Alex awake at his stop and wishes them a good night. He whispers a quick "love you" to Alex, who promptly calls him gay. Niall flips him off, shouting after him, "It's not gay to tell my friends I love them."

The bus driver looks at him funny and Niall scowls at him. When the bus reaches his stop, he thanks Robbie for the ride.

The walk from the bus stop to his house is cold and dark. Niall has to see by the light of the moon, which is blocked out by the trees. The pavement turns to dirt as he spots the light of his house.

He hurries up the steps. Cold air blows in and he shuts the door as quickly as he can.

"Hey, Niall. How was work?" His mother smiles at him, and it's like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He's safe in his house.

"It was good, Mum." His fingers are tingling as they warm up and he wipes at his nose as he unties his boots with clumsy fingers.

"Niall!" His little brother, Max, squeaks out. He barrels towards Niall, who pretends to fall over when Max slams into him.

"Hey, Max! How was your day?"

Max smiles up at him, with his chipped front tooth. "I had a great day. I got to read a book out loud, I got to have extra recess, I got to..."

Max prattles on, as the rest of Niall's siblings crowd him. They all want to tell him about their day, and he laughs and promises to listen to all of them at dinner.

His mother tells his siblings to give him some space to relax after his day. He mouths a quick 'thank you' to his mother. His father still hasn't said hello to him and Niall ignores him.

He unpacks his backpack and pulls out the cloth that his mother wrapped his lunch in.

"I still have a bit of my lunch leftover," He stands in the kitchen area with his mother, helping her chop up vegetables for the stew that they are going to have. "I also got some burdock for us."

"Oh, Niall, thank you." His mom gives him a side hug. Niall pretends to not notice his mom's watery eyes. She wipes her hands on her apron. "Get to chopping up the burdock."

"Yes, ma'am." Niall salutes to her and she lets out a small laugh.

Niall sets the table and ushers his siblings to the bathroom so that they can wash up for dinner. He does his best to get the dirt out.

Niall helps his mother pass out the food. His father sits at the head of the table. Niall takes a seat at the opposite end of the table. His mother sits next to his father and his siblings fill up the room with their talk. Niall participates and everything is fine until his father speaks.

"Where'd you get this root from, Mary?"

Niall tenses.

"Oh, Niall brought it home." His mother sends him a thankful grin and he nods back at her. His father looks at him.

_Don't fucking do it. Don't do it._

"Where did you get this root from, Niall?"

"Doesn't matter," Niall says.

His siblings have started to fall silent. They can tell that something is building up.

"Did you get it from work?"

The resounding silence is answer enough.

"You took food from work? Do you have any idea what would happen if you got caught? Do you know what they'd do to you? To this family?"

Niall stays quiet. He has been caught before, and he's the only one that's been punished for it. His hands have curled into fists and he hides them in his lap.

_Don't fight in front of Mom, don't fight in front of Mom, don't fi-_

"How could you be that stupid and irresponsible?"

_Irresponsible?_

"Irresponsible?" Niall echoes. His father's face pales as he seems to realize what he has said.

"I mean-"

Niall cuts him off. "I've been the responsible one for a very long time, Dad. I've been the main provider for this house for six fucking years."

"Niall, cut it out." His mother's voice stops his rage in its tracks.

Guilt boils in his stomach. "I'm sorry, Mum."

"I'm sorry, Mary." His father utters.

"Maybe apologizes to your son, Tom."

"Yes, Mary." His dad makes eye contact. "I'm sorry Niall."

_Liar._

The rest of the meal passes by without another word from him or his father. Afterward, his siblings sit next to the fire. His mother is helping one of his sisters with her math homework.

Niall had offered to help, but his mother told him that he was still worked up over his father and needed to calm down.

Niall is carefully covering up the fire when his father speaks to him again.

"Son, you know that what you're doing puts the family in danger, right?"

Niall snorts at that. "I put myself in danger. I'm the one that gets punished if I get caught." He turns to his father. "Stop pretending that you are the head of this house. Stop acting like you do so much. Just accept that you won't be able to work in the field for the rest of your life."

He steps forward, and a sadistic part of him enjoys how fear lights in his father's eyes.

"You are not the one in charge of this house. Stop daydreaming and accept it."

Niall moves past his father. He passes by his parent's room. "Goodnight, Mum."

"Goodnight Niall. See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning."

He tucks in his brothers and sisters. He blows out the candles and partially closes the door. Niall lies down in his shared bed and tries to not think about what comes next.

~~_Demeter, the goddess of farming, carried the scythe before Hades._ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter out boi's. I hope no ones OOC. hope you like it!


	3. Pyrocynical is born

_ 5 days before. _

Niall has school for the second half of his day. He was not looking forward to it. The bus was lonely without Alex.

Will and James were also out and would be back to do the afternoon shift with Alex.

Fraiser gets on at the fourth stop and George beckons him over before Niall can say no.

It's not that Niall dislikes Fraiser. It's just that Fraiser often gets in trouble for stealing. The kid isn't called iNabber for no reason.

Fraiser sits down next to Niall. He does his best to ignore the other boy, but it proves difficult as the boy chatters excitedly. 

George gets off at his stop, and Niall has never been sadder to see his friend go. 

Fraiser stands next to Niall in line and talks his ears off. They both get assigned to fertilizing.

Niall has never had so many Peacekeepers watch him at once. Well, they aren't watching  _ him _ , per se.

They are watching Fraiser as he carefully tamps down the fertilizer. Fraiser grabbed another clump from the open bag of fertilizer that's on Niall's shoulder. Niall stands there with sweat dripping down his back, balancing a 100-pound bag on each shoulder.

Fraiser moves forward and Niall follows on legs that are as wobbly as a new-born foal's. Fraiser continues to talk, but Niall now needs the distraction like an addict needs a fix. Anything to distract him from the weight upon his shoulders.

_ (And later, when he truly becomes Atlas, holding up the sky that is the Capitol's entertainment, he wishes to go back to the days where he only held thunderstorms in his arms) _

School is the worst. Niall naps through his first class and his second. George and him collect their classwork and get back on the work bus.

He works until the sun sets. He watches the fireflies dance outside of the window and the cool breeze on his face feels like summer. His mother asks him to make dinner that night and he does, while she sits over a ripped blanket and a crying child that she is consoling.

_ 4 days before. _

At 4:45 AM, he carries two buckets on a yoke on his shoulders. He yawns, body shuddering in the cold. 

He's the last to bathe in his family, and he does his best to move quickly. He dresses in his nicest work clothes (i.e. the ones without major tears).

He helps his little sister button up her coat and ties his little brother's shoes.

Niall walks down the dirt road with his family, carrying their meal basket. The weight of the morning fog rests on his shoulders and he closes his eyes for just a second.

He hears his sibling's laughter and their running footsteps. His mother talks quietly to his father, who doesn't contribute much to the conversation.

He opens his eyes back up when he almost trips over a rock. He thinks that he was quick enough that no one noticed but he hears a giggle from his mother.

As they walk up the road, Alex and George's families join them. The walk is quiet and the adults talk softly while the kids run and play.

George has his mask off and walks with his head bowed. Alex keeps his head up and he talks about nothing all the way to the church.

The church is packed and humid with the bodies of 300 District 9 citizens. Niall stands next to the door, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"And now we pray to Our Father who art in heaven..."

Niall isn't sure that he really believes in God. He knows that his mother believes and that is enough to make him close his eyes and clasp his hands.

And besides, the act of prayer is something that has always calmed him. The idea that he sends out his thoughts into the universe to be received by a caring entity is a nice one.

"And now, as we approach the 50th Hunger Games..." The priest falters and the room falls still and silent. Even the crying baby has stopped as if they know what comes next. "We shall recite how to turn your tesserae into bread and we shall share 5 gifted recipes that use tesserae bread."

_ 5 gifted? There's usually only 1. _

People typically gifted out recipes when they had their name added so many times to the reaping ball, that they thought being chosen was inevitable. Niall himself had his name entered 48 times and he didn't even feel that it was necessary to gift a recipe.

But Alex had his name entered 63 times and had his area name already picked out. It still came as a surprise when Alex pushed past him to line up to speak.

Niall grabbed his friend's arm. "Alex, what in the hell are you doing?"

Alex shook him off. "I'm gifting a recipe, what do you think I'm doing?"

Niall watched his friend walk towards the front, looking as if he was a condemned man heading for the guillotine.  _ Well, fuck that. FUCK THAT! _

Niall handed their food basket to his father. His father started speaking but Niall didn't care. Niall caught up to Alex.

"What are you doing?" The smaller boy hissed.

"Til' death do us part, Alex."

As Alex got closer to the podium, he started trembling. Niall could see Alex's chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Take deep breaths Alex. In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8."

Alex nodded in response, but the boy was miles away by that point.

"Hey, I'm gonna grab your hand, alright?" Niall caught the other boy's free hand. It was slick with sweat.

Alex twitched away from the contact at first and then squeezed Niall's hand.

_ Thank God. _

"I'm gonna tap out the breathing pattern, okay?"

Alex squeezed his hand in response.

When it was Alex's turn to gift a recipe, his breathing had evened out. He was still shaking slightly but it wasn't noticeable. Niall stood next to Alex the entire time.

Niall walked Alex back to his spot and only let go of Alex's hand when the boy asked him to.

After the service was over, everyone gathered for a community meal. They laughed and they talked and they let themselves feel alive before they would mourn their dead.

_ 3 days before. _

Niall works himself to the bone.

He collected his wages and gave them to his mother. His dad also gave his wages to his mother.

"And with my wages," His mother said, "I think we can afford to get Julie some boots."

A tired smile worked onto Niall's face and he pumped his fist in the air.

_ 2 days before. _

Will and James boarded the bus with a mischievous glint in their eyes.

"Good morning to you two," Niall said. "Why have you got that look on your faces?"

"We, uh, scored some hemp," Will said.

"We thought that it would be fun to smoke it together now," James whispered. The second part of his phrase didn't have to be said to be known.

Will pulled out a small joint and James took out his matchbox.

Niall pulled his window open when he was passed the joint. The wind hit his face and ruffled his hair. He breathed out a small cloud of smoke and watched it stream past him. It was lit golden orange by the sunrise.

_ This is a moment of paradise, isn't it? _

He could hear his friend's laughter behind him and the loud rattle of the bus. The wind pulled tears into his eyes, and he ducked his head back in the bus. The heat of the bus was a welcome reprieve from the cold but still felt heavy and oppressive.

The workday passed by without incident.

Niall got off at Alex's and George's stop.

As soon as the bus drove out of view, George pulled out a small flask.

"Care for some rotgut, lads?" George winked at them.

"Yeah, pass it here." Niall took a swig and the chill of the night was nothing compared to the liquid fire that went down his throat.

He coughed, his entire body trying to reject the drink that must have been 90% alcohol.

"Alex, don't drink too much of this. You'll black out within seconds." Niall paused. "And that's not a challenge or a dig. I mean it."

Alex rolled his eyes, but he only took a small sip. His entire body shook with his coughs and Niall patted him on the back.

Niall ran the rest of the way home, chasing the moon until he didn't feel like he was a person anymore.

_ 1 day before _

He spends the day wanting to go home. He spends the night comforting his siblings.

He helps Julie untangle her hair. He tucks Max into bed and checks for monsters when he asks. He shows Anne how to solve a math problem and high fives her when she gets it right. He plays checkers with Natalia, and he lets her win and doesn't get upset when she trash talks him. Niall helps Fred cut his vegetables at the dinner table.

As the fire dies down, he sits in front of his mother. She runs her fingers through his hair and he closes his eyes and leans back. He lets himself be a child for a few minutes, before getting up and doing the washing up for his mother. He gives his father a brief hug and heads to bed.

He tells them all that he loves them.

_ The day of _

Everyone wakes up at the same time as Niall. They all dress in the dark and eat a quick breakfast.

Its a cold walk and Niall can see the sky brightening as the sun prepares to rise. As they wait, little Max and Julie yawn and they lean against Niall's legs. After a few minutes and after Niall's legs start to hurt, Niall picks them both up.

Max curls into the crook of Nialls arm and starts sucking his thumb.

The ride is long and that lets his siblings take a much-needed nap.

They get separated from their parents and his younger siblings at the Justice Buildings and Niall reminds all of his siblings what to do if they get lost or if they can't find him or his parents. It's Anne's first year and Niall gives her a quick hug.

"The chances of you getting chosen are very small." Niall wipes away a stray tear with his thumb. "And if you do, I'd volunteer in a heartbeat, okay?"

Anne sniffles. "But I don't want you to have to go either!" She pushes her face into Niall's shoulder and Niall hugs her back. The Peacekeepers are watching them closely and Niall can feel his little sister's body shake with her cries. He mumbles nonsense words to her and she quiets down.

They separate and Niall waves a quick goodbye to her.

Niall lines up next to Alex, whose nails dig into his arm. It hurts like hell, but Niall keeps his mouth shut.

The escort is speaking and Niall can't hear any of it over Alex's quick breathing. He whispers out the breathing technique to Alex, who is doing his best to follow it. The first name is called and it isn't anyone he knows, so he doesn't care. 

The second name gets called and it doesn't reach him for a few seconds. Then-

"Niall Comas."

His heartbeat is as loud as thunder in his ears.

And then he sees Alex. Alex has let go of his arm and is staring, pale-faced at Niall. And then, he sees the resolve forming in the eyes of a boy who already had his arena name picked out.

And so Niall does what he has to do.

Niall swings at Alex, knocking the boy to the ground.

_ (And as Niall stands over his friend who has a bleeding nose, his own chest heaving, Peacekeepers rushing over, Pyrocynical is born.) _

~~_ Hellfire is as every bit cold as it is hot, as every true sinner knows. _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey i deleted it before by mistake, so enjoy a re-upload!


	4. Flint and steel

_ Seconds after _ .

Niall doesn't struggle with the Peacekeepers but they still handcuff him.

He's dragged onto the stage and he glares daggers at his friends.

The announcer calls two more names. Niall doesn't care for either of them.

They all get to speak except for him. They don't pass the mike in front of him.

But Niall still sends his message any way he can.

He bends his arm in an 'L' shape and grabs his bicep. An Italian salute.

_ Shove it up your ass, Capitol, _ he screams in his head and is surprised when the crowd roars with him.

They don't say the same words but the message is there.

Niall smiles and he is promptly rushed off stage.

  
  


Before they let him see his friends and family, they sedate him.

It's bullshit, but fighting back only proves their point.

Surprisingly, his friends are in the room with him first. They filed in, and Niall notices the absence of Alex.

James reaches him first and Niall is crushed into a hug from the boy. After a few seconds, he lets go of Niall.

"You're gonna fucking win. No other option, man."

Niall nods because his friend looks too angry to disagree with.

"I love you, James," Niall whispers.

"Love you too. See you soon."

James leaves and Will steps forward next.

He doesn't hug Niall, just stops a few feet away from him and fiddles with his hands.

"It's gonna be lonely without you."

Niall can't tell if it's a goodbye or if it's Will saying that he'll miss Niall when Niall wins.

"I love you, Will." And that's all that he says because it's the only thing he can say.

Will goes and it's just him and George now.

George has his mask off. Niall knows how uncomfortable it must make George because the Peacekeepers are right outside the door and there are cameras in the room. But George still has the mask off.

"They won't let Alex in here, cause they think you'll hit him again," George says.

"Makes sense," Niall says and the words don't come out quite right, because they're too heavy in his mouth.

George steps forward and hugs him. Niall holds the smaller boy close and kisses the top of his head.

George steps back and wipes at his eyes.

"It's, y'know, it's okay, if you uh," he clears his throat. "It's, uh, okay if you, uh, if you don't want to fight. If you don't win, it's okay."

Niall isn't quite sure what to make of this. Maybe the dosage was a bit heavy.

"I mean," George's eyes flick up to the camera in the corner. "I want you to win. I, uh, don't, uh, want you to die or anything. There's a lot of people in the Games this year, so you probably don't have a high chance of, uh, winning. So I want you to know that it's okay if you don't want to fight and it's okay if you do."

Niall's thoughts are turning into soup, and he's crying hard now, but he still manages to croak out, "Thank you. I love you, George."

"I love you too, Niall." The mask gets put back on.

"Tell Alex that I love him too."

George nods and hugs him, maybe for the last time ever.

His family comes in next.

His father stays next to the door like he expects Niall to hit him next.

Max reaches him first, and Niall hugs him back. Julie is next and she squishes next to Max. Then Anne comes in and she's bawling her lungs out.

He shushes them and mutters nonsense words and phrases. He tells them that he loves them and they say it back through their sobs. Eventually, his father has to take the three of them outside and Anne has to be pulled off of him. His father looks relieved to go.

Natalia hugs him next. She's only 14 and now she will have to replace him in the fields. She will have to take the tesserae, year after year.

He tells her as much and adds that Alex and the rest will look out for her as she will look out for them.

Natalia seems resigned to her fate and they part with whispered 'love you's as they hug.

He's left alone with his mom.

She gathers him into a quick hug.

When she lets him go, her eyes are wet but she doesn't cry.

Niall doesn't either. He doesn't think he has enough water left for tears. And it feels selfish to cry right now.

He only has to lose his life once. Everyone else will have to lose it over and over again until they too are gone.

His mother reaches into her pocket and pulls out a package wrapped in greyed cloth.

"My mom told me something when I had you."

Niall waits.

"She said 'if your kid gets chosen for the games, you give them this.'" His mom sighs. "I prayed that day would never come. Sometimes I felt that having this in the house was damning us, sealing someone's fate as a tribute."

She unfolds the cloth and in it lies a metal bracelet. There is a band of black rock inlaid in the metal, and a clasp sits next to it.

She puts it around his wrist and it fits perfectly. And that unnerves him more than anything else that happened that day.

"The same thing happened to my father."

Niall looks up at his mother, shocked.

"Worked in the fields all his life, reaped at 18. And now you wear his bracelet."

Niall isn't sure what to say in this situation. Nothing feels like it would be adequate here. "Thank you for the gift, Mum." Is all he says.

And apparently, that's enough because his mom kisses his cheek. "Always such a polite boy," She says.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Niall."

And then Niall realizes something.

"Are you gonna get my clothes when I go?"

It's a pretty stupid question to most people, but Niall is calculating the price of clothing for the next year.

He's not around to work and Natalia will have a learning curve, and his mother's wages won't cover that and everything else they need.

Niall sits down and starts untying his shoes. His mother is asking him what he's doing and he doesn't respond.

He peels off his socks and stuffs them in his boots. His coat comes off next. He hands them to his mother.

_ She's done so much. She's given so much, just let her take this gift from me. _

She seems to know what Niall is trying to say.

The Peacekeepers open the door.

Niall's mother hugs him. She kisses his forehead. "Niall, no matter what happens, you'll always be my little firestarter. Just like your grandpa."

_ What does that mean? _

But he doesn't have time to ask her before the Peacekeepers drag him out of the room.

  
  


Niall sits in the train car. His mentor seems to understand that Niall wants to be left alone and the other tributes stick to the mentor.

The escort does not seem to get this.

She sits far too close for his liking. She keeps trying to talk to him and he fucking hates it.

He knows she's just doing her job, and she doesn't know what's going through his head. But also, fuck her for trying to talk to him right now.

She's trying to pretend that things are normal and is talking about the history of the Games.

He doesn't want to think about that. He'd rather think about how weird it feels to have a metal floor under his bare feet, rather than dirt or mud or stone or grass or wood.

And she's talking down to him, like he's some fucking idiot.

"The Games were seen as a form of justice for-"

"Justice?" He snarls. "People will never bleed enough to fulfill your vision of justice."

He is restrained and sedated for the rest of the ride.

  
  


When he arrives at the Capitol he still is restrained and sedated. They inform him that he will be placed in his room and won't be allowed to interact with other people.

They also muzzled him.

He gets why. He lashed out at the escort. He has to be punished somehow.

They take off the restraints and the muzzle when they reach his room.

There is a pair of boots next to the door and he puts them on, along with a pair of socks. The boots are not the correct size and he loves it.

He looks around the room. A bed, a closet, desk, and a door to the bathroom. He spots a camera in the corner of his room. He flips it off, and heads into the bathroom.

He looks over the bathroom carefully. He doesn't see a camera.

He still feels wary, so he climbs into the bathtub and sits in it.

He twists the bracelet around his wrist.

_ Firestarter, like my grandpa. _

_ What does that mean? _

He looks down at it. Made of metal. Probably steel as that's the most common metal and if it had been anything more expensive than that, it would have been sold.

But he doesn't know the rock. It's shiny and it's black. It kinda... resembles flint.

He undos the bracelet. The clasp catches the light.

He holds it in his other hand.

_ Good God, let this work. _

He strikes it against the maybe-flint. Nothing.

Again. Nothing.

Again.

Spark.

_ Holy fuck _ .

"Thanks, Mom." He whispers it with a tear stained smile. He clasps it back around his wrist.

~~_ How do you destroy a monster without becoming one? _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy the update and stay safe!


	5. Nightmares are filled with peace

He wakes up too early for the Capitol. The door is locked from the outside. And there is no light under the door.

His stomach growls and he goes to the bathroom. He places his head under the tap and drinks from the spout.

Niall doesn't have to wait for long. At about six am, an hour after he woke up, a pair of Peacekeepers open the door. They take him to a room with the other tributes from his district. It's cramped and the stylists in the room seem overwhelmed and frantic.

They rush back and forth between all four of them and Niall holds himself as still as he can. But the sensation of brushes on his eyes is not one that he's used to, and he can't help flinching away from it.

One of them is kind about it, warning him before she paints a golden blush across his face.

The other one is not. He holds Nialls face with sharpened nails that dig into Nialls face. Niall does not like the man and the feeling is mutual.

He's forced into a tunic and strange sandals.

He catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He doesn't recognize himself.

In the mirror, there is a stranger who has a circlet of golden wheat around his head. Gold covers his face, it's on his eyes, on his lips. There are pink marks from when the stylist grabbed his face, and they just add to the feeling of being unreal.

The white tunic has stalks of wheat sewn into it with silver thread.

He doesn't look fully human.

He feels disgusted with himself. He looks like one of  _ them _ .

He's ushered downstairs to a room filled with all of the other tributes. They are all dressed in horrifyingly beautiful outfits, with makeup to match.

Niall stands next to the chariot, arms crossed. The horses snuffle next to him, and they look majestic.

He's never seen one in person, but he's so glad that he got to. He wants to reach out, to pet the horse. But he is bound like they are, and he can't touch them.

A sharp peal of laughter bursts out and Niall glances over to the source.

It's the group of Careers. They seem overjoyed to be here and Niall hates them for it.

_ Fuck them for thinking this is fun. _

A girl Career looks over and Niall meets her eyes. She smiles, all malice and glee, and Niall can easily imagine her wielding a sword.

Niall isn't one to back down, however.

So he stands up straighter, puffs out his chest and nods at her, a quick downward one that screams 'go ahead, try to intimidate me'.

She breaks the stare off and Niall smiles. Its a small victory but it rings loud in his head.

The other tributes from District 9 stay close to him.

Some buzzer goes off and they're loaded onto the chariots. Niall stands in the back and he clutches at the side of the chariot.

They wait for another hour and then, finally, the District 1 chariot moves forward.

His chariot jerks forward. When they get to the start of the track, Pyrocynical is blinded by the lights and deafened by the noise.

He makes sure to stand tall, to try to look intimidating and imposing and to try to look both angry and unaffected.

People are cheering and screaming at him like he's a fox in a cage.

Someone throws a flower at him and he catches it. He remains unsure of what to do for a few brief moments, but he decides to tuck it behind his ear and winks in the general direction it came from.

He is rewarded with an especially loud roar from the crowd.

He smiles and tries to make it smug and angry at the same time.

He doesn't know if it works or not.

He fidgets slightly with his bracelet, turning it so that the lights don't reflect into his eyes.

They finish the Opening Ceremony.

Niall scrubs the makeup on his face when he showers.

He puts on clothes that are too soft and way too new. He is used to hand-me-downs, used to clothes patched with spare cloth.

He heads to the dining hall with the rest of the tributes and stares in shock at the buffet.

There's more food there than he's ever seen in his life. Mountains and mountains of it, and there is a hot surge of anger that washes over him.

This is more than enough food to feed his family for weeks. And it's just lying out here, and no doubt most of it will go to waste.

He still piles his plate up high with food. He sees a lot of the other tributes doing the same.

He sits down at the table for District 9, where his mentor, RaccoonEggs, waits for them.

Niall stuffs himself. His stomach groans in protest but he forces the food down because overeating is so much better than starving.

RaccoonEggs talks while they are eating. He tells them that the best strategy would be to run away from the Cornucopia and to hide away in the arena. "Let the Careers pick each other off." He says, and Niall hears the grief in his voice.

_ Jesus, how many kids has he sent off to the Games? _

iNoToRiOuS shows them the training room.

Niall spends the next few hours trying to learn how to swing any weapon at all.

He goes to bed exhausted.

_ The cannon goes off and he's stuck on his platform and he can't do anything as people run up to him and and an- _

He wakes up, crying his eyes out and clutching his token to his chest.

~~_ What is worse: the dream or reality? _ ~~

~~_ It's definitely the reality. _ ~~


	6. You can't win through anger alone

The next day is scarier.

He eats more food than he needs to, fueled by the instinct to take as much as you can.

_ (Years later, Pyrocynical is greedy, as he stuffs himself at a Capitol party. he is no longer a starving child, he is a well-fed adult. but he cannot ignore his instincts.) _

He is brought to the training room.

There is a balcony in the room, holding 10 mentors. iNotorious, the mentor for District 3 is down in the room with him, and, well, the other missing mentor simply does not exist.

He feels kinda bad for the 4 District 12 kids. Their faces are more drawn and their bodies more gaunt than everyone else's.

One of the boys couldn't hold up his glass without it rattling in his hands.

Niall spots his mentor. Niall waves at RaccoonEggs, cause why not? The dude was nice enough.

But RaccoonEggs doesn't see him.

So Niall cups his hands around his mouth and hollers "Hey, RaccoonEggs!"

He sees RacoonEggs flinch.

_ Oops _ .

Several of the mentors are laughing behind their hands as Raccoon awkwardly waves back to Niall, who finds himself beaming at Raccoon.

He can't help trusting the older man. He reminds Niall of home, of rolling wheat fields, of baked loaves of bread and snarling critters in the night.

Niall has seen a few raccoons before. They didn't seem bad, just mostly scared and hungry.

Just like RaccoonEggs must have been.

The Careers all head to the same station at the same time.

Niall looks at it for a few moments.

It looks like an obstacle course, with lifting platforms and multiple trainers that swing padded foam clubs at the Careers.

He heads to the edible plant station first.

He finds it to be easier for him than most of the other stations.

He's not good at knot-tying, but he's not bad either.

He tries his best, though.

He heads to the weight-lifting station last.

He knows that he can do his best here.

He's used to carrying 200 pound bags so lifting that weight here is almost easier because here he's not really forced (well he still has no real choice, but he likes the illusion of it).

When he out lifts a Career from 2, he has to stop himself from jumping with glee and he instead smirks at the Career, who scoffs and walks away, muttering that he didn't even try hard.

Niall pushes the hair out of his eyes and wipes his forehead with the hem of his shirt. His eyes flick up to the balcony and Raccoon gives him a small nod.

They break for lunch. Niall gorged himself again, hands grabbing at everything on the table.

He ate hunched over his food.

A plate clatters down next to him.

The other District 9 kids shrink behind him. He's the oldest one of them, and it falls on him to be strong for them.

It's a Career from 4. He's speaking before Niall can tell him to get lost.

"I saw you training. It was so satisfying to see Kyle get put in his place by some non-Career District kid."

"Is that it?" Niall asks. He doesn't really wanna be rude, but also he is non-family, non-work, non-friend, so he should not be here.

Eating is sacred, food is sacred, this time is sacred.

"What, a guy can't eat lunch with a pal?"

Niall watches as the guy's hand reaches for something on Niall's plate.

He grabs the other boy's hand. Their eyes meet and Niall says, cold as he can, "Don't touch my food."

Niall lets go of the boy's wrist. The boy jerks back. "Whatever, I was trying to be nice."

The boy walks away and says loud enough for Niall to hear, "fucking freak!"

The kids at his table stir at that.

Niall shakes his head. "It's not worth it."

In the afternoon, he visits fire-starting, hammock-making, and shelter-making.

He particularly likes the last one because they show him how to dig tunnels and how to stack tree branches to shelter himself from the rain.

His eyes keep flicking to the strange obstacle course in the corner as he makes his rounds.

Thirty minutes before the close of the training center, he approaches it with caution.

Almost everyone is gone now.

The room is quiet and dark.

Niall jumps from platform to platform, dodging when the trainers swing at him.

But one trainer swipes at him and he's not expecting it. He falls to the floor.

The trainers rush over to him, but he's already pushing himself up from the ground.

"Yeah, just give me a second to catch my breath. I wanna go again though."

The trainer's exchange looks. "Are you sure, kid?" One of them asks. "Cause most people-"

"No, it was fun," Niall says.

The next day, he spends training at the fighting station.

After he eats dinner alone in his room, Peacekeepers escort him to the styling rooms.

He has to get ready for his interview.

~~_ There are no beasts here because animals don't have a sense of what's good and what's bad. People choose to be bad or good, and everyone here chooses to be evil, over and over again. _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter out boys! the next one is uh,,,,, gonna be a doozy. I love yall and stay safe!


	7. Don't question the truth

_ How can you tell when Pyrocynical is lying? _

_ He breathes. _

_ (A common joke told between district children.) _

RaccoonEggs speaks to Niall when the stylist is powdering Niall's face with orange blush.

"What do you think will make you stand out?"

Niall ponders it for a moment. "I'm pretty strong, I guess? And kinda smart."

RacoonEgg sighs. "Anything else?"

Niall shrugged. "I'm good at talking." He pauses. "I can't come out on top but I sure as hell can drag someone down with me." He grins, and something in it feels sly and deadly.

He catches himself in the mirror when the stylist moves to grab the eyeliner. There is black lipstick on his mouth, and they've done something to make his teeth look whiter and sharper.

He looks feral, like a fox that's been dragged inside after a storm.

He is put into a russet suit jacket, black slacks, and dress-up shoes that he's only ever seen on the district senator.

His nails are sharpened into points and painted black. The stylist has given him fox eyes (he learned that was an actual type of makeup look).

The rest of the District 9 tributes have also been done up to look like animals. One of them is a butterfly, one of them is an opossum, and the final one is a vulture.

They are ushered to the waiting room, where all of the tributes end up waiting.

Niall overhears one of the Careers talking.

"I'm not gonna reveal my name before the Naming Ceremony! I want to be somewhat surprising!" He gestures at his outfit. "You know I'm gonna name myself after my favorite color anyway."

Niall smiles. There's an opportunity there, somewhere.

He learns the color is chlorophyll green and he gets an idea.

One by one, they leave the room, ascending to the stage, the blinding lights leaving only an impression of shadow figures when Niall blinks.

Gone and gone, they all shift in their seats, rows of wheat waving in the wind.

After the Careers are gone, Niall nods to each tribute as they go through the door.

Niall is called up next.

He stands, smoothing out the wrinkles in the suit.

He smiles at the District 9 tributes. "We're all gonna be fine, okay?" Its the worst lie he's ever told, for many reasons. 1) It isn't convincing, 2) it couldn't be farther from the truth, and 3) the other tributes  _ believe _ him. They trust him and he is a  _ liar _ .

He heads up the stairs and turns down the hallway. There's a woman there, holding a clipboard and speaking frantically into a headset. She doesn't spare him a glance.

"When Raji calls your name, walk out onstage. And for Solstice's sake, it wouldn't kill you to smile."

Niall opens his mouth, ready to snap back at her, when "Now, introducing our first tribute from District 9, Niall Comas!"

He almost trips over his own feet but rightens himself as he strides on stage.

"It's on, it's on, it's on!" Will hollers, and Alex practically throws himself down the stairs in the rush to get to the TV.

"-ct 9, Niall Comas!"

Alex sits close to the TV, and when James tugs him back with a firm hand, Alex shoulders out of his grip and looks back at the screen.

Niall walks out on stage, waving at the roaring crowd. There's a cocky smile on his face.

"That's him, that's him, that's him," George yells.

"We all know what Niall looks like," James says with a scoff.

And, yet, he doesn't really look like Niall, either.

The Niall on the TV is made to look inhuman, almost like a-

"-fox, yeah, they wanted to continue with RaccoonEgg's animal-inspired looks for all his tributes. And I can't blame them, Raji, I look dapper in this suit."

"I'm sure it'll win you some points with the ladies back home," Raji says, gleaming teeth bared in a menacing smile. "Is there a special girl back home, Niall?"

Niall laughs again.

It's fake, Alex notices.

"No, I don't. But I have a good group of friends back home. They're all idiots but they're all I got, so you win some, you lose some."

"Speaking of winning, do you think you're going to?"

"Oh, absolutely," and Niall smiles. Up on the stage the lights are hot, and he can feel the hungry looks from the audience.

"What makes you so sure of that, Niall?"

_ Threat, threat, THREAT THREAT THRE- _

"I'm sure because I'm self-aware, unlike some of the other Careers."

~~_ Slip-up, that's gonna haunt you for years. Can you spot it? _ ~~

"Do you think that you could expand on that?"

"Sure, Raji." He chuckles. "There's a District 1 tribute with the stupidest name for their arena name. It's like Chloro-kill or something." He shakes his head. "They're the one wearing all green like they're a fucking leprechaun." He shakes his head again. "Dumbest name ever. Chloro-kill? They sound like a cleaning supply, come off it now."

The crowd laughs.

_A win f or me._

"Good job, Niall" Will murmurs. "Bully the children."

"Shut up, Will. This is not the time for jokes." George says.

"Sorry," Will says.

Alex keeps his eyes on the TV. Niall is good, he is safe, he is  _ alive.  _ For now.

Niall laughs at a joke Raji tells. It's not funny.

Caged, he is caged on the stage, with the presenter, who smiles at him with quartz teeth and who's words are bittersweet and acid-laced.

_ (This is what Niall will become. He cannot escape it.) _

Niall walks off the stage. As soon as he's out from under the lights, he slumps.

He feels like he just ran a marathon.

Raccoon walks up to him. His mentor rests a hand on Niall's shoulder.

"Did I do a good job?" Niall asks, looking up at his mentor, pupils blooming like flowers as they adjust to the darkness backstage.

"Yeah, you did good, kid."

Niall smiles at his mentor.

Alex turns down the volume of the TV when Niall walks off.

He's bitten his nails down to the quick.

"I think he did good," James said.

The others agree.

The quiet weighs on Alex's shoulders.

"He looked well-fed," Alex says.

"Yeah, he did," George says. The other boy sits next to him and awkwardly wraps Alex in a hug. Alex gratefully returns it. The others join in.

"He's safe," James says and they all breathe in the same air as they mourn together.

Niall falls asleep wondering what his family and friends are doing.

~~_ Here is the fox, here is the fire, look ahead, you've spotted a liar. _ ~~

~~_ (A nursery rhyme in Panem.) _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update late... maybe i should change my schedule idk the discord is distracting but in a good way.
> 
> Love yall! Stay safe!!


	8. The chains on the fox

Breathe in, breathe out.

This affects his sponsorships the most.

This will tell him his chance of survival.

When it is his turn, he smiles at the other District 9 tributes and wipes sweat off his palms.

The Gamemakers sit on a balcony.

He feels like he's being watched by statues.

He lifts weights, shows them that he's good at fist fighting, and throws spears.

They don't say anything to him, they just nod and say "Next!"

_ Solstices, they're fucking terrifying. _

He falls asleep, bones aching.

The breakfast is extravagant.

He feels awful eating it all.

It's too sweet, something that digs at him, his body telling him  _ to get more sugar, get more, when are you gonna have it again when are you gonna eat next? _

He will eat at lunch. There will be the same amount of food and sugar.

This thought is almost unbearable for him.

His family back home is not starving. 

It's a small bit of comfort for him.

The breakfast seems to take too long.

He's told that he can dress somewhat casually.

He wears a sweater and jeans. It all fits too well, too soft.

He wishes for baggy clothes, scratchy fabrics, clothes that can withstand things.

He stands on the stage. It takes so long to get to him.

He strides across the stage, smooth and steady, a fox on the prowl.

He steps forward to the mic.

"Pyrocynical."

_ The name will be known for centuries, written in the history books. _

Back in line.

Raji smiles across from Niall.

"Pyrocynical, huh? It has quite the ring to it. What inspired it?"

"Well, Raji, I'm not some fire that's going to be snuffed out. I have my interests at heart. And while I'm gonna fight with all my might, I'm not too optimistic about my choices."

He sleeps well for once.

Maybe his body knows what's coming next.

~~ The day of ~~

The breakfast is bland.

This is done out of choice.

Oatmeal, a staple in his home, for days of hard work, to keep our stomach full for a long time.

One of the kids, Eddie, has a cupcake placed in front of him.

"I'm gonna turn 14 during the games." He says, around a mouthful of the cupcake. "My mom was gonna give me a watch. It was my dad's. He died before I was born."

Little Eddie Miller is 14 for exactly 8 hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds.

Before they head to their separate rooms, Niall gathers them in a hug.

He can't say anything to help them.

He can't lie his way out of this.

He can't comfort them.

He enters his room after making sure the kids go into theirs.

He has the arena clothes on. It feels so strange on his skin, synthetic and lifeless.

RacconEggs comes into the room.

Niall looks at RaccoonEggs.

"I have your token." RaccoonEggs clears his throat and holds it out to Niall by its end.

Niall grabs it and fumbles with the clasp before getting it on.

"You're, uh, you're gonna be fine."

Niall lets out a snort.

"Save that shit for the kids, man."

"Sorry."

"It's good."

RaccoonEggs turns to go.

"Our bodies will be put to rest in the same earth." Niall blurts out.

RaccoonEggs pauses.

It's too quiet in the room.

_ Fuck, did I mess up? What if he doesn't remember it? I fucked up. I fucked up, I- _

"And our children will rest at the hearth." He responds.

So RaccoonEggs does remember his roots.

He's left alone in the room.

He gets in the tube when instructed.

~~_(Under a thousand cameras, the boy does not perform. This is the moment where he is shackled and this is where he is most free.)_ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> am back
> 
> not great writing but i am back!


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